China is operating an elaborate mechanism of both automated and manual monitoring to prevent and block political discussions and criticisms, access to foreign information streams and limit online communication streams operated by non-affiliated 3rd parties.

One such example is WhatsApp, which is blocked since September 26, 2017.

As part of this internet blockade, hundreds of websites and services are simply inaccessible from China.

Your IP address is in China – Your IP is your online fingerprint. Through your IP, ISPs can determine your exact Geolocation and the browsing history associated with it.

You are connected to the internet via local servers – Local Chinese ISPs use and monitor only the servers they control. When you are in China, you have to connect to the internet through those servers.

I suppose you see where I am going with this.. A VPN makes your online presence unidentifiable.

Your IP address is different, and you are connected through encrypted servers in different Geolocations.

This way, your connection to the internet does not in any way go through the Chinese Firewall, and you are free to access any website you want.

Important – Access to many VPN sites is restricted in China, so you must get your VPN before you get into China. Once a VPN client is installed on your PC, Mac, iPhone or Android you can activate it even when you are physically in China.

VPNs that don’t work in China

There are some VPNs that are on China’s blacklists and some that simply won’t work when in China.

If you have one of these VPNs in China they’re going to be useless, so make sure you find a proper alternative.

PureVPN

BufferedVPN

Astrill VPN

Strong VPN

Open VPN

Elephant VPN

TunnelBear

Hide.me

ProtonVPN

This list shows only the most popular VPN services and not all VPN services blocked in China.

As a policy, the Chinese Government does not want to block all VPN services.

This is mainly due to businesses in China that need access to the global internet in order to remain competitive in the international business arena.

Is it legal to use a VPN in China

The short answer is Yes. It is legal to use a VPN in China. But —

There are also a few conditions.

In other words, whether it is legal or not to use a VPN in China, depends on the circumstances.

First, it is illegal to sell or buy a VPN software when you are in China.

If you got your VPN installed outside China, however, from a non-Chinese VPN service, then it is perfectly legal.

Second, it also depends on how you use the VPN.

For obvious reasons, if you use a VPN to spread political views or criticism on the Chinese regime, you could get severely punished.

Not for using a VPN per se, but for utilizing it as a tool for propaganda.

Daniel Krupp is the editor in chief of vpnlocker.com. He Served at an intelligence unit at the US military, specializing in Cyber-Security. This is where he first learned the importance of cyber-security and the tools that should be used to accomplish it. He became an expert in understanding and utilizing VPN’s and other proxies to unblock websites and online services. Daniel consults and writes VPN reviews, VPN guides and useful tricks and hacks for a better, freer internet.